1. Field
This disclosure relates to camera systems for broadcasting live events.
2. Description of the Related Art
Live events, such as sporting events, theatrical productions, and concerts, may be captured using a plurality of video cameras. In this context “captured” means to convert a visual scene into video data for broadcasting and/or recording. For example, the broadcast of the 2012 Super Bowl reportedly used 40 cameras to capture the actual game and another 17 cameras to capture the pre- and post-game shows. The total effort reportedly required 29 trucks and trailers of equipment, six miles of cables, and a crew of 475 people.
The plurality of cameras used to capture an event may include high definition and/or standard definition broadcast cameras. The plurality of cameras used to capture an event may also include specialty cameras. For example, the cameras employed at the 2012 Super Bowl reportedly included four high speed cameras. The images captured by the high speed cameras were recorded and subsequently played back at normal speed to provide slow motion instant replay. While the 2012 Super Bowl was not captured in 3D (3-dimensions), other events have been captured using both conventional cameras and 3D, or stereoscopic, cameras.
The cost and complexity of capturing live events may be reduced if a single camera operator controls more than one camera. For example U.S. Pat. No. 7,929,852 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,090,251 B2 describe camera systems that allow a single camera operator to control both 2D and 3D cameras to capture 2D and 3D images of the same, or nearly the same, scene.
Throughout this description, elements appearing in schematic views and block diagrams are assigned three-digit reference designators, where the most significant digit is the figure number where the element is introduced and the two least significant digits are specific to the element. An element that is not described in conjunction with a figure may be presumed to have the same characteristics and function as a previously-described element having the same reference designator.